Symbiotic relationships are one of the most interesting parts of this hobby. A coral reef is a battlefield for real estate, however there are still these pockets of cooperation between completely different animals that is amazing.

Lighting is important because it directly affects how we visually enjoy the hobby and more importantly the vast majority of the corals in our tanks are photosynthetic. In this article we will first cover some of the basics of the light itself and then discuss the various lighting technologies people use to light their reefs.

There are only three things you need to be successful in this hobby, good water quality, good water flow, and good light. All of those things are pretty involved but lighting in particular gets a lot of discussion because of the three it is the most expensive and the thing that is going to most dramatically affect how the fish and corals in your tank will look.